When a workpiece is worked by means of a lathe, a certain degree of unevenness always arises in the turned surface. The unevenness can be resembled to stripes or threads and arises owing to the cutting edge of the working tool having a limited nose radius. The tools are manufactured with a plurality of different standard radii. The radius of the cutting edge results, in combination with the feeding, in a surface which is not quite smooth. A low feeding speed certainly gives a smoother surface but is irrational in industrial manufacture and therefore does not solve the problem.
For reasons of rationality and expense, much would be gained if, in spite of a relatively high feeding speed, it would be possible to obtain a surface having such a high smoothness that the finishing which today is often necessary can be eliminated or, in any case, be significantly reduced.